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VERSE AND PROSE 



BY 

EUGENE FIELD 

FROM THE GEORGE H. YENOWINE COLLECTION 
OF BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS 



EDITED BY HENRY H. HARPER 

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

WILLIAM P. TRENT >/ 




PRINTED EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEMBERS OF 

THE BIBLIOPHILE SOCIETY 

BY PERMISSION OF MR. WILLIAM K. BIXBY 

BOSTON— MCMXVI I 



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INTRODUCTION 

To the several volumes of the collected edi- 
tion of Eugene Field's writings in verse and 
prose issued nearly twenty years ago various 
well established writers contributed introduc- 
tions. Why such a popular author as Field 
then was should have needed such a host of 
sponsors is not clear, but it is fairly apparent 
that today he is able to dispense with all help 
of the sort, granted that it really is a help. If 
anyone doubts this, he may speedily convince 
himself of his error by taking note of the well 
rubbed condition of some of the volumes in the 
Columbia Library's set of Field's works. Yet 
while I am convinced that no book by, or deal- 
ing with, Eugene Field needs any sort of intro- 
duction, his kindly ghost and the kindly reader 
— an unkindly reader of a book about Field is 
almost unthinkable — will doubtless pardon me 
for contributing these few paragraphs to the 
present volume. 

Mr. Harper has so well described the Yeno- 
wine Collection of Field's writings which 
yielded the materials from which this volume 

[v] 



has been compiled, and he has brought out 
so clearly the special interest attaching to the 
items it has been thought fit to reproduce, that 
to dilate on the pleasure the Field enthusiast 
is likely to derive from what he will encounter 
in these pages would be as superfluous as to 
descant upon the attractiveness of Eugene 
Field himself, whether he be viewed as the 
embodiment of all that is friendly and whim- 
sical, as the poet of childhood, or as the born 
journalist who was also the genuine man of 
letters. It may not be superfluous, however, 
to lay emphasis on the fact that among Ameri- 
can writers no one has a greater claim to the 
attention of true bibliophiles than the collector- 
author with whom we are now enabled to be- 
come more intimately acquainted. 

Although facsimiles of Field's unforgettable 
handwriting and of his capricious drawings 
are obtainable elsewhere, they do not seem to 
produce such a definite impression as they do 
here; and what could bring out more clearly 
and concretely Field's devotion to the higher 
sides of his genius and calling than his own 
methodical, alphabetical listing of all the titles 
of his verses and prose tales? He had, we see, 
his share of the love of fame, but more than 
his share of the love of good work for good 

[vi] 



work's sake, and of the love for fellow-men 
and — what is better — fellow-children. 

Of the specific items in the Yenowine Col- 
lection — it will be remembered by the close 
reader of Field's verse that the name of his 
friend's Kentuckian family occurs in the line 
of "The Peter-Bird" that runs — 

The Yenowines, Crittendens, Dukes, the Hickmans, 
the Hobbses, the Morgans — 

undoubtedly the most important is, as Mr. 
Harper has stated, the bound volume contain- 
ing most of the original manuscripts of those 
translations and paraphrases from Horace which 
are regarded by some persons as likely to be, 
apart from a handful of poems of sentiment 
and humor which the anthologist will not let 
die. Field's most enduring contribution to liter- 
ature. This volume of manuscripts may well 
be regarded by Mr. Bixby, to whose unex- 
ampled generosity we Bibliophiles are now 
once more indebted, as one of the very choicest 
of his literary possessions. It suggests the 
pleasant thought that, in the long run, like 
may be trusted to encounter like. This unique 
memorial of an insatiate collector has found a 
fit abiding place with other similar treasures 
gathered by a lover of things beautiful and rare, 

C vii ] 



and the muse of the most intimate of modern 
poets has associated herself for the times to 
come with the kindred muse of the most inti- 
mate of the poets of antiquity. The advantages 
such a conjunction must confer on Field's fame 
and memory need not be dwelt upon, but it 
may be appropriate to remark that not the 
least of these is likely to be a comparative im- 
munity from pedantic criticism. Due allow- 
ance being made for the fact that Horace wrote 
in a dead language, neither writer, for fairly 
obvious reasons, seems to have strong attrac- 
tions for scholarly bores. Nor does either, we 
may opine, furnish much delight to literary 
faddists — to the well meaning people, always 
with us, who strive, as the saying is, to make 
up for inanity of matter by insanity of style. 

Next in interest to the material connected 
with the Horatian paraphrases comes the por- 
tion of this volume that is concerned with 
"Villon and I" and with Field's last man- 
uscript. The art — or knack — of weaving 
proper names into attractive verses is not one 
with which most poets are born, or which they 
acquire with great ease; but Field in some way 
made it his own, and rarely, if ever, put it to 
better service than in the unfinished stanzas 
that seek to confer a deserved immortality upon 

[viii] 



sundry leading second-hand booksellers of Lon- 
don and elsewhere. A more appropriate set 
of verses for the poet-collector to have been 
writing in his last conscious moments it would 
be difficult to imagine, and his admirers will 
be grateful to his friend Yenowine for having 
preserved them. They will doubtless be grate- 
ful also, though in less measure or in a different 
way, for being able to share in the woes of 
Mr. Peattie over his lost rubbers, and to con- 
nect once more, this time through the stanzas 
entitled "The Humane Lad," the tricksy elfish- 
ness of Eugene Field with the staid exemplari- 
ness of Dr. Isaac Watts. 

W. P. TRENT. 



[ix] 



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Author's inscription in copy No. 177, 
h-^^n<''ma^p paper edition of "A Ijittle 
Rook of Profitable Tales," printed 
by John Wilson ^ Son. 






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Author's inscription in "The Symbol 
and the Saint," first edition, . illus- 
trated by J» L. Schlanders, . 1886* . 



VERSE AND PROSE 

The most important item in the Yenowine 
collection of Eugene Field's books and MSS. 
is a bound volume containing most of Field's 
original manuscript translations and paraphrases 
of the Ars Poetica and the Odes of Horace. 
From various pencil marks and other evidence 
it appears that these MSS. were used as printer's 
"copy" in setting up the text of Echoes From 
the Sabine Farm; and they have added value 
in that they disclose a number of errors and 
variations in the printed text. The MSS., 
according to Field's wont, are written and 
punctuated with great precision and accuracy, 
and for the most part they were faithfully 
copied by the printer; but there are a number 
of discrepancies which should be corrected in 
order to make an authoritative text. For ex- 
ample, the first two lines of Ode II, Book II 
of Horace, which Field rendered — 

To Scythian and Cantabrian plots 
Pay thou no heed, O Quintus! 

[1] 



were printed (page 116, Echoes From the Sabine 
Farm) — 

To Scythian and Cantabrian plots 
Pay them no heed, O Quintus! 

which destroys or else makes unbearably awk- 
ward the grammatical construction of the open- 
ing sentence. The word "thou" is plainly 
written, and no reasonable excuse can be as- 
signed for changing it to "them." 

In the third and fourth lines of stanza ii of 
Horace's famous Soracte ode, Field's manu- 
script reads — 

And, better yet, sweet friend we'll whet 
Our spirits with some four-year-old — 

while in the text as printed (page 62 of the 
"Echoes") it reads — 

And better yet, sweet friend, we'll wet 
Our whistles with some four-year-old. 

It is impossible to say whether Field made the 
change in the proofs, or if the perversion is 
to be charged to the printer; but whoever is 
responsible, it is none the less regrettable that 
the slang phrase "we'll wet our whistles" 
should have been inserted in a poem of such 
dignity. It is at least interesting to know that 
Field cannot be accused of having committed 

[2] 



the indignity at the time he made his transla- 
tion. The first three stanzas show how well 
he caught the spirit of the original. — 

See, Thaliarch mine, how white with snow 

Soracte mocks the sullen sky; 
How, yearning loud, the woods are bowed, 

And chained with frost, the rivers lie. 

Pile — pile the logs upon the hearth — 
We'll melt away the envious cold; 

And, better yet, sweet friend, we'll whet 
Our spirits with some four-year-old. 

Commit all else unto the gods 

Who, when it pleaseth them, shall bring 

To fretful deeps and wooded steeps 
The mild persuasive grace of spring. 

The lines on pp. 53-55 of the printed edition 
entitled "The Lyric Muse," are accompanied 
by no statement whatever that they are trans- 
lated from any part of Horace's writings, and 
for all the reader is told they may be an original 
composition by Field himself. The index, how- 
ever, does contain a bit of information, or mis- 
information, which is widely at variance with 
the manuscript. In three of the editions at 
hand the indexes read, "Ars Poetica, line 301;" 
whereas, at the top of the original manuscript 
Field wrote in large letters of red and black 
ink: — 

[3] 



THE "ARS POETICA" OF HORACE — XXIII. 

(Lines 391-407.) 

Moreover, in the second line of the third stanza, 
Field wrote — 

Old Homer sang unto the lyre 

which was changed in printing to — 

Old Homer sung unto the lyre 

The sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth lines of 
the same stanza in the manuscript are clearly 
written and punctuated as follows: — 

The oracle, when questioned, sings — 
So we our way in life are taught; 

In verse we soothe the pride of kings, 
In verse the drama has been wrought. 

The alteration of words and punctuation in the 
printed version changes the meaning entirely. 
It reads — 

The oracle, when questioned, sings; 

So our first steps in life are taught. 
In verse we soothe the pride of kings. 

In verse the drama has been wrought. 

Here the regularly rythmical line — 
So we our way in life are taught 

[4] 



is rendered irregular and harsh, and instead of 
ourselves being taught, our "first steps in life 
are taught." The manuscript, furthermore, 
says that the oracle sings, and then seems to 
proceed to tell what it sings, viz: — So we our 
way in life are taught, etc. Whereas, in the 
text as printed the oracle is said to have sung, 
but of what we are not informed. The semi- 
colon following the word "sings" and the period 
at the end of the next line entirely alter the 
text of the MS. and instead of the oracle 
singing the last three lines as in the manu- 
script, they are made to issue from the mouth 
of the poet. 

In the twenty-second ode of Book I, stanza 
iii, Field wrote: — 

Lo, on a time I gaily paced 
The Sabine confines shady, 
And sang in glee of Lalage — 

the last line of which was printed — 

And sung in glee of Lalage — 

Again, in the next stanza the MS. reads — 

And, as I sang, a monster wolf, 
which is printed — 

And as I sung, a monster wolf — 

E5] 



Among the MSS. in the volume there are two 
paraphrases of Horatian Odes which do not 
appear ever to have been printed; perhaps for 
the reason that they passed into Yenowine's 
possession before the Echoes From the Sabine 
Farm was published, and were probably over- 
looked by Field. The first of these is Ode 
XXXI, Book I, signed and dated "Dresden, 
1890," as shown in the accompanying facsimile. 
This was while Field was abroad, and it is the 
only one of his Horatian paraphrases showing 
the place where it was done, with the single ex- 
ception of Ode XVIII, Book I, dated "Chicago, 
August 22nd, 1889," which date has been 
crossed out in the MS., perhaps by the 
printer. The Ode translated at Dresden is 
written in purple ink with rubricated initials 
at the beginning of each stanza, and runs as 
follows: — 

As forth he pours the new-made wine. 
What blessing asks the lyric poet — 

What boon implores in this fair shrine 
Of one full likely to bestow it? 

Not for Sardinia's plenteous store, 
Nor for Calabrian herds he prayeth. 

Nor yet for India's wealth galore 
Nor meads where voiceless Liris playeth. 
[6] 









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Let honest riches celebrate 

The harvest earned — I'd not deny it; 
Yet am I pleased with my estate, 

My humble home, my frugal diet. 

Child of Latona, this I crave: 

May peace of mind and health attend me. 
And down unto my very grave 

May this dear lyre of mine befriend me! 

Eugene Field. 

Dresden, 1890. 

N. L. Torre's more stately version is here 
given for purposes of comparison. Field's 
rather free paraphrase is done in four lines less 
than the Latin, while both Torre and Sir 
Theodore Martin in their more literal versions 
exceeded the original by four lines. — 

What gift of Phoebus have I prayed? — 

The fresh libation duly made, 

What asks the bard ? — No fruitful stores, 

The harvest of Sardinian shores; 

No herds Caiabrian hills supply, 

Nor gold, nor Indian ivory; 

For rural meads no wish he knows. 

Where Liris, gentle river, flows. 

Let others prune Calenian vines 

For whom propitious fortune shines; 

Let merchants at their board produce 

In golden cups the purple juice, 

[7] 



Exchanged for Syrian wares; who brave 
Thrice in each year the Atlantic wave, 
And safe in Heaven's peculiar care 
The perils of the ocean bear. 

For me shall be the olive dressed, 
Mallows and endive be my feast. 
Son of Latonal grant me this — 
My destined lot to meet in bliss! 
Grant to my prayer health unconfined; 
And, oh, preserve my peace of mind! 
Let my old age unspotted prove 
And brightened by the Muse's love. 

The second unpublished paraphrase is of 
Ode XXXIV, Book I of Horace, as shown in 
the facsimile. It is dated September 8, 1889, 
and signed. Five colors of ink were used, — • 
brown, red, green, bronze and black. It is as 
follows: — 

I have not worshiped God, my King — 
Folly has led my heart astray; 

Backward I turn my course to learn 
The wisdom of a wiser way. 

How marvelous is God, the King! 

How do His lightnings cleave the sky — 
His thundering car spreads fear afar, 

And even hell is quaked thereby! 

[8] 


















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Omnipotent is God, our King! 

There is no thought He hath not read, 
And many a crown His hand plucks down 

To place it on a worthier head! 

Eugene Field. 

September 8, 1889. 

Here again Field has made his paraphrase in a 
less number of lines than the original Latin. 
He often wandered wide of the text, as will be 
seen by comparing his lines with Sir Richard 
Fanshawe's more literal interpretation in the 
same number of lines as the original. — 

I that have seldom worshipped Heaven, 
As to a mad sect too much given, 
My former ways am forced to balk 
And after the old light to walk. 
For cloud-dividing-lightning Jove 
Through a clear firmament late drove 
His thundering horses and swift wheels; 
With which supporting Atlas reels: 
With which Earth, Seas, the Stygian lake 
And Hell (with all her Furies) quake. 
It shook me, too. God pulls the proud 
From his high seat, and from their cloud 
Draws the obscure; levels the hills. 
And with their earth the valley fills. 
'T is He does all. He does it all: 
Yet this blind mortals Fortune call. 

[9] 



Seventeen of the twenty-three MSS. of Hora- 
tian paraphrases contained in the volume are 
dated, and all are signed in full. The dates on 
most of them have been crossed through with 
pencil, doubtless by the printer, and in no 
instance does the date appear in the printed 
editions. The pieces to which dates are affixed 
are as follows: — 

Ode XXX, Book III, March 19, 1889 

Ode II, Book IV, March 25, 1889 

Ode II, Book II, August 26, 1889 

Ode XVIII, Book I, Chicago, August 22, 1889 

Lines 1-23 "Ars Poetica," September 2, 1889 

Lines 391-407 "Ars Poetica," September 3, 

1889 

(These were expanded to thirty-six lines 
in the translation) 
Lines 323-333 "Ars Poetica," September 5, 

1889 
Ode XXXIV, Book I, September 8, 1889 
Odes XXII and XXXIII, Book I, September 

10, 1889 
Horace to his Lute, September 11, 1889 
Ode III, Book II, September 13, 1889 
Ode VII, Book II, September 17, 1889 
Ode I, Book IV, September 18, 1889 
Ode XXXI, Book I, Dresden, 1890 
[10] 



Ode IX, Book I, February 5, 1891 

Ode XXIX, Book III, February 27, 1891 

It will therefore be seen that most of Field's 
translations from Horace were made in the 
fall of 1889, perhaps while he was in ill health, 
for in his Auto-analysis he says: "111 health 
compelled me to visit Europe in 1889; there I 
remained fourteen months." Only two of his 
translations were made after his return from 
Europe — those dated February 5 and 27, 1891. 

One of the most interesting Field MSS. ex- 
tant is his personal sketch of his life. The orig- 
inal draft in the Yenowine collection is dated, 
"New Orleans, March 14, 1894," the year 
before his death. Accompanying the MS. is a 
four-page Japanese vellum leaflet on which the 
sketch is printed in full. At the top of page 1, 
Field has written: "Of eight copies on Japan 
paper this is No. 7." It is signed at the end and 
dated "April 5, 1894," from which it appears 
that the sketch was put into type and printed 
not more than three weeks after it was written. 
In 1896 F. M. Morris printed an edition of one 
hundred and fifty copies on Japanese vellum, 
under the title of Eugene Field — Auto-analysis. 

In the first page there is a curious discrepancy 
between the printed copy and the manuscript 

[11] 



— a facsimile of which appears herein — where 
Field says: "We have had eight children (two 
daughters and six sons;" whereas in the printed 
text it reads "three daughters and five sons." 
There are other more or less important varia- 
tions, among them the addition of a complete 
paragraph of eleven lines on the last page of the 
printed copy — probably added in the proofs 

— and the omission of the written statement: 
"I do not care much for so-called literary peo- 
ple; they make me weary." After "I believe 
in churches and schools," Field added in the 
printed text, — "I hate wars, armies, soldiers, 
guns and fireworks." 

In view of the personal interest that attaches 
to this sketch, it has seemed desirable to print 
it here in full. 



[12] 




Thir, port>-2.it of Fl'-»1<1 v/a.«? pa.'^ter? in 
t- - Uront o£ Tenowine'3 'v^oy of ^'Tchjos 
Froia the Sabliie Farm." - . ,....- .:^<v>.':.--..t. 






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S^kA^tUr cJ^U^'>^ MAA/tvU <- A~Cc 'JUvtXv- <*«^ '\'V»«- ] — 



lio^-e/vvD (/^>C<) 



Author's inscription on first fly-leaf 
of "Echoes from the Sabine Farm," copy 
No, 41 of handmade paper edition signed 
by Francis Wilson. 



EUGENE FIELD'S SKETCH OF HIS 
OWN LIFE 

I was born in St. Louis, Mo., September 3d, 
1850, tlie second, and oldest surviving, son of 
Roswell Martin and Frances (Reed) Field, botli 
natives of Windham County, Vermont. Upon 
the death of my mother (1856), I was put in 
the care of my (paternal) cousin, Miss Mary 
Field French, at Amherst, Mass. In 1865, I 
entered the Private School of Rev. James Tufts, 
Monson, Mass., and there fitted for Williams 
College, which institution I entered as a fresh- 
man in 1868. Upon my father's death in 1869, 
I entered the sophomore class of Knox College, 
Galesburg, 111., my guardian, John W. Burgess, 
now of Columbia College, being then a professor 
in that institution. But in 1870 I went to 
Columbia, Mo., and entered the State Uni- 
versity there, and completed the junior year 
with my brother. In 1872, I visited Europe, 
spending six months and my patrimony in 
France, Italy, Ireland and England. 

In May 1873, I became a reporter on the St. 
Louis Evening Journal. In October of that 

[13] 



year I married Miss Julia Sutherland Comstock 
(born in Chenango County, N. Y.) of St. Joseph, 
Mo., at that time a girl of 16. We have had 
eight children (three daughters and five sons). 

My newspaper connections have been as 
follows: 1875-76, city editor of the St. Joseph, 
Mo., Gazette; 1876-80, editorial writer on the 
St. Louis Journal and St. Louis Times-Journal; 
1880-81, managing editor of the Kansas City 
Times; 1881-83, managing editor of the Denver 
Tribune. Since 1883, I have been a contributor 
to the Chicago Record (formerly Morning 
News). 

I wrote and published my first bit of verse 
in 1879; it was entitled "Christmas Treasures" 
(See Little Book of Western Verse). Just ten 
years later I began suddenly to write verse very 
frequently; meanwhile (1883-89), I had labored 
diligently at writing short stories and tales. 
Most of these I revised half a dozen times. One 
(The Were- Wolf), as yet unpublished, I have 
re-written eight times during the last eight 
years. 

My publications have been chronologically, 
as follows: — 

1. The Tribune Primer; Denver, 1882. (Out 
of print and very, very scarce). 
(The Model Primer; illustrated by Hoppin; 
[14] 



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W-^ cUA^ka ^K^UMU^ ^Y*^, "?)Mvw^^<y , '^^A^ ^-Q <^J^4i^rt> , UX*^ ^jii:<>4.^U^. dV p,4At^t oi J^ 






'^ ' . . • 






Treadway, Brooklyn, 1882. A pirate 
edition). 

2. Culture's Garland; Ticknor, Boston, 1887. 

(Out of print). 
A Little Book of Western Verse; Chicago, 

1889. (Large paper, privately printed and 

limited). 
A Little Book of Profitable Tales; Chicago, 

1889. (Large paper, privately printed and 

limited). 

3. A Little Book of Western Verse; Scribners, 

New York, 1890. 

4. A Little Book of Profitable Tales; Scribners, 

New York, 1890. 

5. With Trumpet and Drum; Scribners, New 

York, 1892. 

6. Second Book of Verse; Scribners, New York, 

1893. 

7. Echoes from the Sabine Farm;* 

Translations of Horace; McClurg, Chicago, 
1893. 

8. Introduction to Stone's First Editions of 

American Authors; Cambridge, 1893. 

9. The Holy Cross and other Tales; Stone and 

Kimball, Cambridge, 1893. 
Ill health compelled me to visit Europe in 
1889; there I remained fourteen months, that 

* In collaboration with my brother, Roswell Martin Field. 

[15] 



time being divided between England, Germany, 
Holland and Belgium. My residence at present 
is in Buena Park, a north-shore suburb of 
Chicago. 

I have a miscellaneous collection of books 
numbering 3500, and I am fond of the quaint 
and curious in every line. I am very fond 
of dogs, birds and all small pets — a pas- 
sion not approved of by my wife. My fa- 
vorite flower is the carnation. My favorites 
in fiction are Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter," 
"Don Quixote" and "Pilgrim's Progress." I 
greatly love Hans Christian Andersen's Tales, 
and I am deeply interested in folk-lore and 
fairy tales. I believe in ghosts, in witches and 
in fairies. I should like to own a big astro- 
nomical telescope, and a 24-tune music box. I 
adore dolls. 

My favorite hymn is "Bounding Billows." 
My heroes in history are Martin Luther, Mme. 
Lamballe, Abraham Lincoln; my favorite poems 
are Korner's "Battle-Prayer," Wordsworth's 
"We are Seven," Newman's "Lead, Kindly 
Light," Luther's Hymn, Schiller's "The Diver," 
Horace's "Pons Bandusiae," and Burns' "Cot- 
ter's Saturday Night." I dislike Dante and 
Byron. I should like to have known Jeremiah 
the Prophet, old man Poggio, Horace, Walter 

[16] 



Scott, Bonaparte, Hawthorne, Mme. Sontag, 
Sir John Herschel, Hans Andersen. My fa- 
vorite actor is Henry Irving; actress, Mme. 
Modjeska. 

I dislike "politics," so called. I should like 
to have the privilege of voting extended to 
women. I am unalterably opposed to capital 
punishment. I favor a system of pensions for 
noble services in literature, art, science, etc. 
I approve of compulsory education. I believe 
in churches and schools; I hate wars, armies, 
soldiers, guns and fireworks. 

If I could have my way, I should make the 
abuse of horses, dogs and cattle a penal offense; 
I should abolish all dog-laws and dog-catchers, 
and I would punish severely everybody who 
caught and caged birds. 

I like music (limited). I have been a great 
theater-goer. I enjoy the society of doctors 
and of clergymen. I do not care much for so- 
called literary people; they make me weary.* 
I do not care particularly for sculpture or for 
paintings; I try not to become interested in 
them, for the reason that if I were to cultivate 
a taste for them I should presently become hope- 
lessly bankrupt. I dislike all exercise and I 
play all games very indifferently. I love to 

* This sentence was omitted in previous editions.— Ed. 

[17] 



read in bed. I am extravagantly fond of per- 
fumes. My favorite color is red. I am a poor 
diner, and I drink no wine or spirits of any kind; 
I do not smoke tobacco. I dislike crowds and 
I abominate functions. 

I am six feet in height; am of spare build, 
weigh 160 lbs., and have shocking taste in 
dress. But I like to have well-dressed people 
about me. 

My eyes are blue, my complexion is pale, my 
face is shaven and I incline to baldness. It is 
only when I look and see how young and fair 
and sweet my wife is that I have a good opinion 
of myself. 

I am fond of the companionship of women, 
and I have no unconquerable prejudice against 
feminine beauty. I recall with pride that in 
twenty-two years of active journalism, I have 
always written in reverential praise of woman- 
kind. I favor early marriage. 

I do not love all children. I have tried to 
analyze my feelings towards children, and I 
think I discover that I love them in so far as I 
can make pets of them. 

I believe that, if I live, I shall do my best 
literary work when I am a grand-father. 

I give these facts, confessions and observa- 
tions for the information of those who, for 

[18] 



one reason or another, are applying con- 
stantly to me for biographical data concerning 
myself. 

Eugene Field. 

New Orleans, 
March 14, 1894. 



[19] 



EUGENE FIELD'S DIARY 

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS INTERVIEW. 
WITH PRESIDENT CLEVELAND, ETC. 

Washington, February 17, 1886. — Jules Guth- 
ridge sent word that Col. Dan Lamont had 
made an arrangement for me to meet the presi- 
dent at 8:30 in the evening. We went to- 
gether to the White House and sat on a sofa in 
the Secretary's room, waiting for the president 
to appear. Lamont was across the room whis- 
pering with a stranger. About 9 o'clock Cleve- 
land came out of a side room. Lamont said: 
"Mr. Field is here; would you like to see 
him?" 

Cleveland said: "Yes, where is he?" He 
turned and faced us. I went up and shook 
hands with him. He thought he had met me 
before, but I assured him he had not. We 
moved toward the fireplace and he leaned on 
the mantelpiece as we talked for twenty min- 
utes. He looked older than I had expected and 
there were wrinkles in his face that did not 
appear in photographs of him. 1 told him that 

[20] 



the Democrats of the West were all opposed to 
his policy and he laughingly admitted that he 
believed they were. I asked him to join me 
in a fishing excursion to Spirit Lake, la. He 
said he knew he would enjoy the trip but he 
disliked to go west because he would be ex- 
pected to put himself on exhibition there — 
he hated that sort of business. He spoke 
favorably of Gov. Gil Pierce, of Dakota. Col. 
Lamont gave me a mammoth cigar which, he 
assured me, was not a Yorkville cigar nor one 
of the kind that Col. Andy Welch gave away. 
It seems that the Daily News is read at the 
White House. 

New York, March 6, 1886. — Atty. Gen. 
Banton G. Boone and Treasurer Seibert, of 
Missouri, at the Fifth avenue hotel; reporter 
Walker, of the Star took them over to Hoffman 
house and one of the bell-men was assigned to 
escort the party over the premises. The guide 
expected to be feed but the Missourians, know- 
ing nothing of these things, urged him to take 
a seat in the barroom and to drink with them. 
Had he done so with his uniform on, he would 
have been discharged. 

New York, March 5, 1886. — Called at the 
Sun office; Mr. Dana not in. Saw Mr. Mitchell 

[21] 



who introduced Paul Dana, who reminded me 
of Huntley. When Mr. Dana came in, he re- 
ceived me very cordially. I told him that 
Walter Hutchins felt aggrieved by the Suns 
course towards the Post. Mr. Dana com- 
plained that the Post had virulently assailed 
the Sun. He inquired after Mr. Stone. "Your 
work is always good," said he; "aside from it, 
the Daily News is very dull. Now the Tribune 
(Chicago) is sometimes bright." I talked with 
him an hour. He asked me to find out whether 
'twas true that Pulitzer and McCullagh had 
once come to blows in Adelaide Neilson's pres- 
ence. When I arose to go he said, "Come 
around every morning and sit in that chair 
and visit with me." This touched my heart. 
"I am glad to find you looking so well," said I. 
"I hope you'll live a thousand years — at least, 
I hope I'll die first, for I admire and respect you 
very much." 

Post scriptum: He said that what he had 
predicted of President Cleveland was coming 
true: his vanity was disrupting the party. 

New York, March 7, 1886. — Took dinner at 
5 o'clock with Henry E. Dixey and wife at the 
house, 122 West 44th Street. About 6 o'clock 
Mr. Blakely Hall dropped in. He urged me to 



come to New York at once to engage in the 
publication of a weel<ly paper. I learned that 
Henry Guy Carleton had abandoned the scheme 
of founding a weekly paper here. (By the way, 
it was to have been called The Autocrat.) Dixey 
explained that the reason he did not pay any 
attention to Walter Meadowcroft in the Hoff- 
man house was because Meadowcroft had D— 
with him. Dixey received a play from D— at 
one time and gave him his note for ^100 for it 
— on condition, however, that D — would not 
present the note for collection until the play 
was produced. D— sold the note for $90 to 
a New York broker who collected it under 
threats of suit. 

New York, March 7, 1886. Called on Len 
Vanderpoole at his home, 13 University Place. 
Neither he nor his surroundings looked prosper- 
ous. He told me that William K. Vanderbilt 
and Chauncey Depew had promised to back 
him in the newspaper business. The paper was 
to be called The Daily Globe; was to be issued 
every day at noon, and was to be republican in 
politics; Vanderpoole was to be editor and Gill 
was to be associate editor. The best men were 
to be gleaned from all parts of the country and 
a man from the London Standard office was to 

123^ 



be dramatic critic. Vanderpoole said he was 
very anxious to have Bates and me connected 
with the paper and he would let us name our 
salaries; would also give us a guaranty for 
five years. 



[24] 






.Ay;*/^.;si3, 



~ 6it 




Author's inscription on first leaf of 
"A Little Book of V/estern Verse," first 
edition. 






Author's inscription in "Second Book 
of Verse," first edition. 



Since it is always interesting to know the cir- 
cumstances and conditions that gave rise to 
popular poems and stories, the following letter 
written by Field to a friend will find ready 
appreciation among his many admirers: — 

Dear Sir: 

My Dutch lullaby was written one night in 
the spring of 1889. The little story occurred 
to me as I was riding home on the street cars. 
I had determined to write a series of lullabies 
and had begun one which I meant to entitle 
A Dutch Lullaby; this I elaborated subse- 
quently into the bit of verse entitled ''Night- 
fall in Dordrecht." When the names of Wynken, 
Blynken and Nod occurred suddenly to me, I 
abandoned the windmill story and took up with 
the wooden shoe. I sat up in bed and wrote 
out the lullaby as it now appears, with the 
exception that I first wrote 

''Into a sea of blue," 

and this line I changed next morning to 

"Into a sea of dew." 
[25] 



This original draft of these verses was made 
upon brown wrapping paper and is now held 
by Mr. Charles H. Dennis, of the Chicago 
Record. 

My "Little Boy Blue" was written (1889) 
within the space of two hours in the Record 
office and to fill an order from the America. 
The name of Little Boy Blue came to me while 
I wanted a rhyme for the seventh line of the 
first stanza. 

My verses "To a Usurper" are actually ad- 
dressed to my son Frederick who as a little boy 
used to say that when he grew up he was going 
to marry his mother. 

"The Dead Babe" was written (1898) one 
evening while my infant son lay at the point of 
death. 

"The Stork" and "Little-Oh-Dear" were 
inspired by my baby girl. 

"Our Two Opinions" was written (1889) 
to prove to a friend that I could make a 
fair imitation of James Whitcomb Riley's 
style. 

My wife's favorite of my verse is "The Song 
of Luddy-Dud," a fragment inspired by our 
baby boy. Similarly inspired was "Garden and 
Cradle." 

"Little Homer's Slate" was suggested by a 
[26] 



■i 



personal experience told by H. H. Kohlsaat, of 
this city. 

''The Wanderer" was written (1883) and 
published with Mme. Modjeska's name ap- 
pended, merely to hoax the public. 

''Buttercup, Poppy, Forgetmenot" was writ- 
ten (1891) upon the anniversary of my oldest 
boy's death. The allusion in the last stanza of 
the dedication of With Trumpet and Drum is 
to this beloved child. 

The dedication of my "Second Book of 
I Verse" was written in Frankfort-on-Maine, in 

the summer of 1890. 

My Jewish lullaby was written at Carlsbad 
and was inspired by the sight of a weary-looking 
Jewess nursing her babe in the highway near 
the Sprudel. 

With the money I got for my verses "Apple- 
Pie and Cheese" I bought my folio Chaucer of 
1598. 

The foregoing letter does not disclose the 
identity of the person to whom it is addressed, 
but it is accompanied in the Yenowine collec- 
tion by another letter beginning "Dear Lem- 
perly," which proves now to be one of the most 
interesting letters that Field ever wrote. Al- 
though it is undated, internal evidence shows 

[27] 



it to have been penned only a few days before 
his death, for he had then completed eighteen 
chapters of his last book, to which he after- 
wards added but one short chapter of eleven 
pages. From this letter it becomes evident that 
the book as printed is in reality only about one 
half the length he planned to make it, for he 
says: "I suppose that Chapter XXXV ought to 
be enough, although I don't see how I'm ever 
going to say all I want to within that compass." 
He was also planning two other books which, 
had he lived to complete them, would doubtless 
have added luster to his name. 

In addition to the facsimile, the text of the 
letter is here given in full: 

Dear Lemperly: 

I feel under great obligations to you, and I 
thank you, for this volume of Maude Robert- 
son-Hicks' poems. Aside from its rarity in 
this edition, the book is of value for the excep- 
tional excellence of the work with which — I 
should perhaps blush to make the confession 
— I have but just now become acquainted. 
This lady has the genuine feeling and with 
this gift she has also remarkable power and 
facility of expression, the naturalness and the 
nicety of her method appealing to me with un- 

[28] 



usual directness and force. I question whether 
you could have remembered me more felici- 
tously than by taking this opportunity to send 
me this charming, dainty book. 

I am now hard at work upon my Love-affairs 
of a Bibliomaniac, which I am printing in install- 
ments in the Record and which will be published 
next spring. I have reached Chapter XVI 1 1 and 
I suppose that Chapter XXXV ought to be 
enough, although I don't see how I'm ever 
going to say all I want to within that compass. 
When I am done with this pleasant task, I 
shall want to write a book about curio-collect- 
ing, and after that I shall perhaps feel like 
attempting — what I have long been thinking 
about — a story of New England life, involving 
Salem witchcraft and the brief period of Nathan- 
iel Mather's life. Way has been wanting me to 
do the preface to the volume of Anne Brad- 
street's poems which the Duodecimos will pub- 
lish: but Anne is a tough, uncongenial old bird 
and I hesitate to tackle her. I suppose that 
one is justified in putting off a task which he 
feels he cannot do well. 

I have long been intending sending you my 
copy of the Love-Songs of Childhood for your 
boy to ornament with his autographic signa- 
ture. I must delay that duty no longer. I want 

[29] 



the signature upon the page where the second 
picture of the lad occurs. Renewing to you my 
assurances of gratitude and of affection, I am 
always sincerely yours, 

Eugene Field. 



[30] 



"VILLON AND I" 

(See accompanying facsimile) 

This fine poem, which Field wrote for The 
Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac, only thirty-five 
days before his death, is prefaced in that work 
by the following remarks: "I was not done 
with my discourse when a book was brought in 
from Judge Methuen; the interruption was a 
pleasant one. *I was too busy last evening,' 
writes the judge, 'to bring you this volume 
which I picked up in a La Salle street stall 
yesterday. I know your love for the scallawag 
Villon, so I am sure you will fancy the lines 
which, evidently, the former owner of this book 
has scribbled upon the fly-leaf.' Fancy them? 
Indeed I do; and if you dote on the 'scallawag' 
as I dote on him you also will declare that our 
anonymous poet has not wrought ill." 

This was Field's method of introducing his 
own verses into this story, as witness at the 
end where he introduces his poem "One Day I 
Got a Missive," he had it brought in by Judge 
Methuen, who asked him to give it a place "in 
these memoirs." 

[31] 



The ** Villon and I" poem as printed differs 
slightly from the MS. The title given it is 
"Frangois Villon," which is not as comprehen- 
sive as "Villon and I." Field divided his 
poem into three eight-line stanzas. The fifth 
line of the first stanza he originally ended, "my 
Margot at my side," which he changed in the 
MS. to "my frowzy brevet-bride." His spell- 
ing of "frowzy" was changed and printed 
"frouzy." Possibly he may have intended 
"frowzy" to have a double meaning, suggesting 
"frow." In the second line of stanza ii, "yon 
deserted boulevard," as he wrote it, would be 
more in line with the robber's idea than "yonder 
gloomy boulevard," as it was printed. A de- 
serted boulevard would doubtless suit a robber's 
purposes better than a gloomy one. 

Four lines farther on, "to our brothel with 
our gain" was printed, "to our bordel with our 
gain." The third line from the end was changed 
and printed "Go, fetch my pen, sweet Margot, 
and a jorum of your wine!" and in lieu of the 
closing quotation marks in the MS., a line of 
dots was inserted. Then the two parenthetical 
lines at the end were printed without the paren- 
thesis marks. There are a few other unimpor- 
tant variations. 

After inserting the Villon poem, Field con- 
[32] 



i/lOvW fcW9 ^, 



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d^ v^'v.,«t^ ^o^t*^ O'-vtZrn^ A^ ^W*v*^ 0^^.>v ,5 



V^J^^-T'-'^^ ^>-'JA' 



^i/iA^;fc/0 -&wv£twi5 






^ 



[ >^ '^^vrvU^ O^ ^.utP .«vw« *U.mJvKfp . A^ av«4^. ^M*- ^W? '^ tc^yui, ^ 



Ig^ OO-vvXj OT***^ f&V -K^JU*/^ -rrivvJ*} ris/\j IdAy ^^*/> -tXk^ ti/\^ » 

. / . '^^ I 



"^ 



tinued: "My acquaintance with Master Villon 
was made in Paris during my second visit to 
that fascinating capital, and for a while I was 
under his spell to that extent that I would read 
no book but his, and I made journeys to Rouen, 
Tours, Bordeaux, and Poitiers for the purpose 
of familiarizing myself with the spots where he 
lived, and always under the surveillance of the 
police. In fact I became so infatuated with 
Villonism that at one time I seriously thought 
of abandoning myself to a life of crime in order 
to emulate in certain particulars at least the 
example of my hero." 

This poem was not printed in Scribner's 
"Complete Edition" of Eugene Field's poems, 
1915; for what reason it is impossible to say. 
Field's words, "Original draft," as shown in 
the margin of the MS. facsimile settles any 
doubt as to its being his own composition. 



[33] 



The last Manuscript that Eugene Field wrote 
is accompanied in the Yenowine collection by 
the following statement, probably by Yenowine 
himself: — 

FIELD: The rarest of all Field Manuscripts. 
Eugene Field was found dead in bed about 
4 o'clock on the morning of November 4, 1895. 
His friend, G. H. Yenowine, who was spending 
the night with the family, was with Mr. Field 
off and on all the preceding evening and up to 
midnight. Lying in bed Mr. Field had a soft 
paper tablet and while they were at dinner he 
began writing a verse on the famous old book 
dealers of London, Paris, Edinboro and Leipsic, 
to be used in the book he was then publishing 
as a serial. The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac . 
The names of these dealers had been written 
out for him by his friend Geo. M. Millard, of 
McClurg & Co. He could not compose with the 
usual facility and after talking with him a few 
minutes, he tore two pages of an unfinished 
poem beginning — 

Oh, London is as fine a town, 
[34] 



' -'■'■ ^ ^^^'^.^ tT^^- 



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:.J..Uj 


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ivw^ »//.-&:«/«|L.a GrtA-'iJ iW.tA^-' ■ <-• 


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^yvt^'l^^ 






'« 





from the tablet he held in his hand, and folding 
these pages with the notes furnished by Millard, 
handed the package to his friend, saying: "Put 
these in your pocket, George, and when we go 
down town tomorrow I must see Millard about 
these names he gave me." The MS. is written 
with a lead pencil, two verses are completed and 
two more verses blocked out. This was the 
end of Mr. Field's life task. He died a few 
hours later. 

In Roswell Field's Introduction to The Love 
Affairs of a Bibliomaniac he says: "During the 
afternoon of Saturday, November 2, the nine- 
teenth instalment of 'The Love Affairs' was 
written. It was the conclusion of his literary 
life. The verses supposedly contributed by 
Judge Methuen's friend, with which the chapter 
ends, were the last words written by Eugene 
Field. . . . In the early morning of November 
4 the soul of Eugene Field passed upward. On 
the table, folded and sealed, were the memoirs 
of the old man upon whom the sentence of death 
had been pronounced. On the bed in the corner 
of the room, with one arm thrown over his 
breast, and a smile of peace and rest on his 
tranquil face, the poet lay." 

The statement accompanying the present 
[35] 



MS. — that Field handed it to his friend 
Yenowine, saying: **Put these in your pocket, 
George," explains how it came to escape the 
public eye. Its existence, moreover, was not 
known even to Roswell Field, as his own words 
testify in substance. 

The first page of Millard's list is missing, but 
the others, here given in facsimile, show some 
rather interesting comments; especially the one 
on page 3: "The thrifty Edinboro booksellers 
all have short names, — as short as possible, 
because thereby there is economy in ink and 
in time." As Field used the names he ran them 
through with pencil, but he apparently neglected 
to cross off Suckling, Ellis, Bailey and Hutt, 
whose names he grouped together in the second 
stanza. 

As marking the closing chapter in a literary 
career of such singular interest and charm as 
that of Eugene Field has for the American people 
this little piece which represents the last touch 
of his pencil to paper, is perhaps the most pre- 
cious item of Fieldiana in existence. 

Oh, London is as fine a town 

As ever I have seen — 
There's an old bookstand at every hand 

And several in between; 
[36] 



IMPORTERS BOOKSELLERS AND PUBLISHERS STATIONERS 



A. C. McClurg & Co. 

117, 119, AND 121 Wabash Avencs 

CORNER MADISON STREET 



Chicago ^ 139 







p J / \ 












IMPORTERS BOOKSELLERS AND PUBLISHERS STATIONERS 



A. C. McClurg & Co. 3 



117, 119, AND 121 Wabash AvENne 

CORNER MADISON STREET 



Chicago i89 






G^IL 



■d^tXiVlAJ^ 



— di:^^^^«44'^^^^ 



■~'Me»*-«-.-=»^» 









IMPORTERS BOOKSELLERS AND PUBLISHERS STATIONERS 



A. C. McClurg & Co. M- 



117, 119, AND 121 Wabash avenuk 

CORNER MADISON STREET 



Xoa/lA . 



Chicago iS9 



q^ W'U-v^ 4 qui. 






\qJ({ Tve^^e^oAiM. ^^_^^ . ., 









^ ^^ J^-.^UH^ X^>^.^^.-..^ l^^C^^^^U-^x^ 








But arm yourself with wherewithal 
Before you make the rounds 

For treasures they range all the way 
From shillings up to pounds. 

Sin^ Bumpus, Sotheran, Quariich, Roche, 

Sin^ Edwards and Dobell; 
Sing Maggs and Bull whose shops are full 

Of rarities to sell! 
Sing Rimell, Jackson, Suckling, George: 

Sing Ellis, Bailey, Hutt 
Sing wormed antiques, uniques 

And motley Bibliomaniac freaks 

Large paper and uncut! 

At Manchester and Liverpool, 

And Edinboro' town 
Are bibliopoles — God bless their souls! 

Of proper great renown ! 
At Glasgow and at Birmingham 



Sing Hitchman, Hopkins, Forester, 
Sing Pitcher, Sutton, Brown 

From towering folio's down; 
Sing Downing 

Sing Young 

[37] 



In the back of this volume is a list printed 
from Field's holograph manuscript giving in 
alphabetical order the correct titles of nearly 
all his verse and stories published prior to 
1894, a year before his death, and the books 
in which they appear. The first page is given 
in facsimile. Although the manuscript is not 
dated, in a note at the end he refers to a 
memoir he wrote for a volume "printed, St. 
Louis, 1894."^ It may be observed that while 
the manuscript list contains titles to several 
pieces "Not yet collected," Field did not in- 
clude the title of "Penn Yan Bill's Wooing," 
written Oct. 15, 1887, and first printed by The 
Bibliophile Society in 1914. He wrote this in a 
volume for his friend William C, Buskett, and 
perhaps forgot about it, though it was one of 
the cleverest and most spontaneous things he 
ever did. A number of other uncatalogued 
poems written in the same book — and which 
do not appear to have been published — are 
here printed for the first time.^ 

1 The title to this volume is, "Tributes in Memor>' of Ruth C. 
Gray." 

2 These, with the Penn Yan Bill poem, were previously issued 
by Mr. Bixby in a limited facsimile edition for complimentary dis- 
tribution; but they do not appear ever to have been issued in type 
form until now. — Ed. 

[38] 



**^^-tt»,..<^ y..a,«««-kf^ w|J.wwU:J -«w^ oevK |»*^^^ 'Wv -^/yiMAvno, nrvw^*^ (i^wjf>ta) ,-v <M«4- r^ -(i-'un^ .^cAw^^v ^|ai,wf A-wS .t*^yJivU . JJU'u.ov^^ L, a^kv4!u) tt^ *i*v»»t 

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tM>., 1*0 (Ui. A.i|(f^,"/»j^ iA^ fr<M*vvrwuA/ 'Tnt^nAvvnyx'^Ml^ ." "fr^^ frvm,-^ dv)i*/, vm5 e««vi- •&</ iuJju^. J'ivA i "ry^x^ eov^ ^'>rtui ^-v;J l^ Kv -%«6<v sjk-^i^^ 






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m 



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L-t 






NOVEMBER 

The night is dark and the night is cold 

And the wind blows fierce and strong, 
And the rich man sits in his castle old — 
He drinks his wine and he counts his gold 
As the night goes frowning along, along, 
And the nightwind sings its song. 

The wind speeds out to the withered lea 

Afar from the greedy throng, 
Where the poet abideth in poverty — 
Nor castle, nor wine, nor gold hath he, 

But he heareth the nightwind's song — its 
song 

As the night goes frowning along. 

Oh, give me no castles, proud and old, 

Nor honors that station brings — 
Give me no plenty of wind ^ and gold, 
But give me the soul, when the nights be cold, 

To hear what the nightwind sings and sings 

As it rustles its voiceful wings. 

1886. 

^ Field wrote "wind," but he probably meant "wine." 
[39] 



TO FRANK W. REILLY 

If I were rich enough to buy 

A case of wine (tho' I abhor it!) 
I'd send a quart of extra dry 

And willingly get trusted for it. 
But, lackadayl you know that I'm 

As poor as Job's historic turkey — 
In lieu of Mumm, accept this rhyme, 

An honest gift, tho' somewhat jerky. 

This is your silver- wedding day — 

You didn't mean to let me know it! 
And yet your smiles and raiment gay 

Beyond all peradventure show it! 
By all you say and do it's clear 

A birdling in your heart is singing. 
And everywhere you go, you hear 

The old-time bridal bells a-ringing. 

Ah, well, God grant that these dear chimes 

May mind you of the sweetness only 
Of those far-distant callow times 

When you were bachelor and lonely. 
And when an angel bless'd your lot 

(For angel is your helpmate, truly), 
And when, to share the joy she brought. 

Came other lillle angels, duly. 

[40] 



So here's a health to you and wife — 

Long may you mock the Reaper's warning, 
And may the evening of your life 

In rising sons renew the morning; 
May happiness and peace and love 

Come with each morrow to caress ye, 
And when you're done with earth, above 

God bless ye, dear old friend — God bless ye I 

June 9, 1886. 



MR. PEATTIE'S RUBBERS 

Hard by his desk one stormy night. 
Whilst their possessor paused to write 
His criticisms terse and bright. 
Lay Mr. Peattie's rubbers. 

The night was wild with rain and sleet, 
The slush ran riot in the street — 
In short, the world outside was meet 
For Mr. Peattie's rubbers. 

But when the office clock struck one 
And journalistic work was done, 
Some other, thieving son-of-a-gun 
Took Mr. Peattie's rubbers. 
[41] 



A man with unkempt beard and hair 
Went snooping wildly here and there, 
But found no traces anywhere 
Of Mr. Peattie's rubbers. 

Now curses on the callous soul 
Of that remorseless wretch who stole 
The subject of this dismal dole — 
Viz: Mr. Peattie's rubbers. 

April 10, 1886. 



THE HUMANE LAD 

Why should a naughty, froward boy 
The harmless little fly assail? 

Or why his precious time employ 
At pulling honest Rover's tail? 

Where e'er I go, each living thing 
Has its predestined place to fill. 

And naught that moves on foot or wing 
Was made for boys to vex or kill. 

The little fly, howe'er so frail. 
Was made on Rover's hide to prey, 

And faithful Rover's honest tail 
Was made to brush the fly away. 
[42] 



So let each bird and beast enjoy 
The vain, brief life which God has giv'n, 

Whilst I my youthful hours employ 
In works that fit the soul for heav'n, 

1886. 



A NATIONAL HYMN 

Whether on hill or plain, 
Blood of the patriot slain 

Hallows our sod; 
While from the glorious air 
Vaulting our land so fair 
Fall, as an incense rare, 

Blessings of God. 

Holy the heritage 
Blazoned on hist'ry's page 

For us to keep; 
Wrapped in thy mantles red, 
With our dear flag o'er head, 
Rest thee, illustrious dead — 

Sweet be thy sleep I 

Princes, that scorn the Right — 
Nations, whose pride is Might, 
Crumble to dust; 
[43] 



Freedom the boon we crave 
No man shall be a slave 
Where'er our banner wave - 
God is our trust! 

Seeing those early years 
Dim thro' a mist of tears, 

Pausing, we stand; 
While spirit voices share 
This universal pray'r 
Filling the solemn air — 

"God bless our land!" 



Sept. 17, 1887. 



YE CREWELL SASSINGER MILL 

All upp & downe ye river & along ye sandy shore 
Ye yemen ben a moaning & ye women skrike 
full shrill 
&, like a praroor fire, ye news are spredde from 
doore to doore 
That Sawney leesed a finger in ye sassinger 
mill. 

O Sawneys hand itt ben as faire as ever dole a 
pack 
Or drawed a pair of five spotts on ye deuces 
for too fill; 

[44] 



None bolder hande nor Sawneys never whoppit 
up ye jack — 
But now it leesed a finger in ye sassinger mill ! 

His fayther slew a barrow on a Moneday after- 
noone — 
This morning, whiles that Sawney did ye 
hopper all to-fill, 
His evill sister Betty gave ye cranke a turn too 
soone, 
& Sawney leesed a finger in ye sassinger mill I 

1887. 



UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE 

The sheriff sleeps in a marble vault — 
The kynge in a shroud of golde, 

And upon the air with a chanted prayer 
Mingles the mock of moulde. 

But the deere draw to the shady pool, 

The birds sing blithe and free, 
And the wildflowers bloom on a hidden tomb 

Under the greenwood tree. 

Oct. '87. 



[45] 



The titles in quotation marks in the left hand 
column of this index have been added to those 
in Field's manuscript in order to make the list 
of titles more nearly complete. Field probably 
intended to have this published, whether sep- 
arately or in conjunction with other material 
it is impossible to say. It must have surprised 
even the author himself on reviewing his list 
to see the number of pieces from his pen. 
His own arrangement gives the titles in the 
alphabetical order of only the first initial, 
and with the idea of preserving it in its origi- 
nal form the same rule has been observed in 
the printing. 



[46] 



^ ^ 



¥r 



t)*,*,.^^ ibonr4<, c-i IfvL^^ 






-^ 






l^4AMAUt<M Vi>KrkjlAv '(Ti-cicljU' 









• t " i» 



^t^r.^ r^TT^ a||- iHw^^ 



t> (I 



fi>iAJbm/i 1 % , tLo 



VERSE 

(The title of the piece is first given, and then the title of the book 
in which it is to be found. Where a piece is published in "With 
Trumpet and Drum " as well as in the volume named, an asterisk 
(*) is affixed to the title of that piece.) [Headnote by Field.] 



■Apple- Pie and Cheese 
Ailsie, my Bairn 
At the Door * . . 
Ashes on the Slide . 
Armenian Lullaby * 
Amsterdam, In 
Always Right . 
"Armenian Mother, The' 
"Actor, A Very Weary" 
"April Fool, The" 
"Ahkoond of Swat, The" 
"Abu Midjan" . . 
"Ancient Oaths, A Ballad of 



Bumpville, The Ride to . . 

Brook, The 

Bench- Legged Fyce, The . . 
Bottle-Tree, The .... 
Buttercup, Poppy, Forget-me-not * 
Bibliomaniac's Prayer, The . 
Bibliomaniac's Bride, The 
'Boy-Blue — See Little Boy Blue 
Beranger's "Broken Fiddle" . 
Beranger's " Ma Vocation " . 
Beranger's " My Last Song, Perhaps 
Bottle and the Bird, The . . 
Bells of Notre Dame . . . 

Barbara 

Boltons 22, The .... 
Bill's Tenor and My Bass 

[47] 



Little Book of Western Verse 



Second Book of Verse 



With Trumpet and Drum 
Scribner's Complete Edition 



Love-Songs of Childhood 



Second Book of Verse 
Little Book of Western Verse 



Second Book of Verse 



Bion's Song of Eros Second Book of Verse 

Billings of Louisville, Mr. ... " " " 

Bethleham-Town ...... " « << << 

" Booh! " Love-Songs of Childhood 

Beard and Baby 

Brag, Little Miss 

Button- Eyes, Lady 

Bambino (Corsican Lullaby) * . . Second Book of Verse 

" Brook, To a Little " With Trumpet and Drum 

" Bell- Flower Tree, The" . ..." 

" Balow, My Bonnie " . . . . " " " " 

" Ben Apfelgarten " Scribner's Complete Edition 

" Be My Sweetheart " .... 
"Broken Ring, The" .... 

" Boccaccio " 

" Brook Song, A " 

" Bow-Leg Boy, The " .... 
" Beranger's ' To My Old Coat' " 
"Bion, A Spring Poem From" . 
" Bion the Smyrnean, Two Idyls from " 

" Big Thursday" 

" Bachelor Hall" 

" Bethlehem Town " 

" Boy, The " 

" Bugaboo, The " 



Catullus to Lesbia Second Book of Verse 

Clink of the Ice, The 

Crumpets and Tea 

Cafe Molineau, The 

Christmas Eve 

Christmas-Time, The Peace of * . . " 

Chrystmasse of Olde Little Book of Western Verse 

Christmas Treasurer * " 

Christmas Hymn 

Camelot, A Proper Trewe Idyll of . 

Cheyenne, At Second Book of Verse 

Carlsbad 

Corinthian Hall " 

Child and Mother * Little Book of Western Verse 

-Casey's Table d'Hote " 

Conversazzhyony, The .... 

[48] 



Croodlin'-Doo, Little * . . . . Little Book of Western Verse 

Cunnin' Little Thing, The . . . Love-Songs of Childhood 

" Cobbler and Stock " With Trumpet and Drum 

" Contentment " Scribner's Complete Edition 

" Convalescent Gripster, The " . . " 

" Clare Market " 

"Cradle Song" " 

" Clouds, Song of the " .... " 

"Coquetry" " 

" Cricket's Song, The " .... " 

"Cinna, To" " 

"' Cuss- Word,* Romance of a " . . " 

"Cakes, The Remorseful "... " 

" Cold Consolation " " 

"Christmas" " 

" Chicago Weather " " 

" Collector's Discontent, The " . . " 
" Christmas Wind, A Song of the " . 
"Cutting of the Cake, The" (White 

House Ballads) " 

iristmas Morning " " 



DmRabelais 

DrJbam 

DrAi, The 

Diniey-Bird, The 

Dreim-Ship, The 

De Amicitiis 

Dana, of the New York Sun, Mr. 
Divine Lullaby, The * .... 

Dear Old London 

Doctors 

Dibdin's Ghost 

Doings of Delsarte 

Duel, The 

Doll's Wooing, The 

" Death of Robin Hood " . . . . 

" Dead Babe, The " 

"Dreams, The" 

" Drinking Song, A " 

" Discreet Collector, The " . . . 
" Dream of Springtime, A " . . . 

[49] 



(Not yet collected) 

Love-Songs of Childhood 

(Not yet collected) 

Little Book of Western Verse 

Second Book of Verse 

Love-Songs of Childhood 

Little Book of Western Verse 
Love-Songs of Childhood 
Scribner's Complete Edition 



" Dismal Dole of the Doodledoo, The " Scribner's Complete Edition 
" Dream, Dream, Dream " 
" Der Mann im Keller " . 
" Debutante, The " . . 
" Denman Thompson, To " 



" Emma Abbott, To " . 

"Ed" 

" Elfin Summons, An " 
" Explorer's Wooing, The ' 
" Extinct Monsters " . 



Second Book of Verse 



Love-Songs of Childhood 



With Trumpet and Drum 



Scribner's Complete Edition 



Flanders, In. 

Firelight, In the * . 

" Fiducit "... 

Father's Way . 

Fisherman's Feast, The 

Fiddle-dee-dee I . 

Fisherman Jim's Kids 

" Fly- Away Horse, The 

" Father's Letter " . 

" Fairy and Child". 

" Fire-Hangbird's Nest, The " 

" Fate of the Flimflam, The " 

"Fairy Lullaby, A" 

" French Must Go, The 

" Fanchon the Cricket 

" From the Same Canteen" 

"Fool, The" .... 

" For the Charming Miss I. F.'s Album " 

■ Gold and Love for Dearie * . . . Little Book of Western Verse 

Gosling Stew Second Book of Verse 

Gettin' On " 

Grandma's Prayer With Trumpet and Drum 

Ganderfeather's Gift * . . . . Second Book of Verse 

Grandma's Bombazine .... " 

" Goodbye — God Bless Youl " . . Little Book of Western Verse 

Good-Children Street Love-Songs of Childhood 

Garden and Cradle 

Googly-Goo " 

" Grandslre, The " With Trumpet and Drum 

[50] 



Scribner's Complete Edition 



Little Book of Western Verse 



"Great Journalist in Spain, The" . Scribner's Complete Edition 

"Guess" 

"Gettysburg" 

"Good Man's Sorrow, A " ... 
" Gee Swee Zamericane " .... 
"Grant" 

Holy Grail, The Culture's Garland 

Horace, Translations and Paraphrases Echoes from the Sabine Farm 
Heine's " Widow or Daughter" . . Little Book of Western Verse 
Hugo's "Flower to Butterfly" . . " " " 

Hi-Spy* " " " 

Happy Household, The .... Love-Songs of Childhood 

Holly and Ivy Second Book of Verse 

Hawthorne Children, The * . . . " ...... 

Humming-Top, The Love-Songs of Childhood 

Heigho, My Dearie (Orkney Lullaby) * Little Book of Western Verse 
"Hushaby, Sweet My Own" (Lul- 
laby: By the Sea) *...." 
" Hugo's 'Child at Play'" . . . With Trumpet and Drum 
" How Salty Win Out " .... Scribner's Complete Edition 

"Hushaby, A" " " " 

"Heine, A Paraphrase of "(Lyric In- 
termezzo) " " " 

" Heine Love Song, A " .... " " " 
" Hymn " (From the German of Mar- 
tin Luther) " " " 

" Hugo's ' Pool in the Forest' " . . " *' " 

"His Lordship, the Chief Justice" . 

" Hint for 1884, A " 

" How Flaherty Kept the Bridge " . 

" Human Nature " " " " 

" Her Fairy Feet " " 

" Humanity " " " " 

"Holland, In " " " " 

"Hymn: Midnight Hour " ..." " " 

" Holman's Farewell, Mr." ..." " " 

" Humane Lad, The " Verse and Prose; The Biblio- 
phile Society, 1917 

Intry-Mintry * Second Book of Verse 

Ipswich " ...... 

[51] 



Inscription for a Silver Plate . . . Love-Songs of Childhood 
" Invitation to Sleep, An " ... Scribner's Complete Edition 
"Indian and the Trout, The" . . 
"Illinois War-Song, An" .... 
"Ill Requited" 

Jewish Lullaby * Second Book of Verse 

"Jest 'fore Christmas " .... Love-Songs of Childhood 

"Jessie" Scribner's Complete Edition 

" Jaffa and Jerusalem Railway, The " 

"Jennie" " " " 

"Jelly-Cake, Ballad of the" ... 
"July, The 5th of" 

Kissing Time ....... Love-Songs of Childhood 

Krinken * Little Book of Western Verse 

Korner's Battle-Prayer .... Second Book of Verse 
"King Grover Craves Pie" (White 

House Ballads) Scribner's Complete Edition 

" Kissing of the Bride, The " (White 

House Ballads) " " " 

Little AU-Aloney Love-Songs of Childhood 

Little Mistress Sans-Merci . . . With Trumpet and Drum 

Little Boy Blue * Little Book of Western Verse 

Little Blue Pigeon (Japanese Lul- 
laby) * " " " 

'Lollyby, Lolly, Lollyby* . ..." " " 

Lyttel Boy, Ye * " " 

Little Homer's Slate * Second Book of Verse 

Lizzie * " « « « 

Lydia Die " « « <• 

Lover's Lane, Saint Jo ... . " " << " 

Long Ago * Little Book of Western Verse 

Little Mack 

Little Bit of a Woman, A (Dedication) Second Book of Verse 

"Little-Oh-Dear" Love-Songs of Childhood 

" Lyman, Frederick, and Jim " . . Scribner's Complete Edition 

"Lullaby, A" 

' ' Limitations of Youth, The " . . 
"Love Song — Heine" .... 
" Leap- Year Episode, A " . 
" Lament of a Neglected Boss " . 

[52] 



" Leap- Year Lament, A " . . . . Scribner's Complete Edition 

" Little Miss Dandy " 

"Ladye Julia, To tlie " .... " " " 

"Longings" " " " 

Mother, To My Second Book of Verse 

Modjesky as Cameel " « .< .. 

Moschus, " The Lost Cupid " of . . " " " 

Marthy's Younkit Little Book of Western Verse 

Mediaeval Eventide Song * . . . " " " " <• 

Madge; Ye Hoyden " " " 

Mother and Child " " " 

"Mary Field French, To" . . . Scribner's Complete Edition 

" Mysterious Doings " 

"Mary Smith" 

" My Playmates " " " " 

" Marcus Varro " " 

"My Garden" " 

"Morning Song" " " " 

"M. L. Gray, To" (Dedication to 

Echoes from the Sabine Farm) . 
" Mother and Sphinx " (Egyptian Folk- 

Song) 

" Mystery of Pasadene, The " . . " " " 

" Modern Martyr, The " .... 

"Mugwump, The Song of the" . . " " " 

"Mein Faeder Bed" " " " 

" Mr. Peattie's Rubbers " . . . . Verse and Prose; The Biblio- 
phile Society, 1917 

Naughty Doll, The * Second Book of Verse 

Night Wind, The Love-Songs of Childhood 

Norse Lullaby * Little Book of Western Verse 

" Nightfall in Dordrecht " * . . . Second Book of Verse 

"Nellie" With Trumpet and Drum 

"New Orleans, In" Scribner's Complete Edition 

"New- Year's Eve" 

" Nightmare, A " " " " 

"November" " " 

" November " (another poem) . . Verse and Prose; The Biblio- 
phile Society, 1917 
"National Hymn, A" Verse and Prose; The Biblio- 
phile Society, 1917 

[53] 



Our Lady of the Mine 

Our Two Opinions . 

Old English Lullaby . . 

Our Biggest Fish . 

Over the Hills and Far Away 

Onion Tart, The . 

Our Whippings * . . . 

Oh, Little Child (Sicilian Lullaby) * 

"Old Times, Old Friends, Old Love 

"One Day I got a Missive" 

" Old Spanish Song " . 

"Official Explanation, The" 

"Of Blessed Memory" 

"Ohio Idyl, An" . . . 

"Ohio Ditty, An" . . . 

"Old Sexton, The" 

" Oglesby (1884) " . . 

"Overworked Word, An" 

"O'Connor's Iloquint Spache" 

"Oh, London is as Fine a Town " 



Little Book of Western Verse 



Love-Songs of Childhood 
Second Book of Verse 
Second Book of Verse 
Little Book of Western Verse 
Second Book of Verse 
Scribner's Complete Edition 



Scribner's Complete Edition 



Verse and Prose, The Biblio- 
phile Society, 1917 



Play, At Love-Songs of Childhood 

Providence and the Dog .... Second Book of Verse 

Poet and King " " " " 

Passing Saint, To the " •< « « 

Partridge, The " .. « << 

Plaint of a Missouri Coon ... " " " 

Pittypat and Tippytoe * . . . . " « « .< 

Pneumogastric Nerve, The . . . " " 

Prof. Vere de Blaw Little Book of Western Verse 

Peach, The Little " ...... 

Psalm, The Twenty-third ... 

Pic-Nic Time Love-Songs of Childhood 

Peter-Bird, The (Not yet collected) ^ 

" Paraphrase, A " Scribner's Complete Edition 

"Pan Liveth" 

" Princess Ming, The " 

" Piteous Plaint, A " 

" Poet's Return, The " .... 

" Play on Words, A " 

1 Afterwards printed by Scribner's. 

[54] 



" Patriot's Triumph, A " . 
" Political Maud, The " . 
"Plea for the Classics, A " 
" Parlez-Vous Frangais? " . 
" ' Puritan' — ' Genesta ' " 
"Passing of the Compliment, The 

(White House Ballads) . 
"Poem in Three Cantos, A " 
"Pike's Peak". 
"Pie, In Praise of" 
" Penn Yan Bill's Wooing " 
"Parting Song, A " . . 



Rock-a-by Lady, The 

Robin Goodfellow, To .... 

Red 

Red, Red West, The 

Rare Roast Beef 

"Rose and the Iceberg, The" 
" Rhine- Land Drinking Song, A " 
"Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, From 

the" 

"Reilly's Peaches, Mrs." . . . . 
" Reilly, Frank W., To " . . . . 



Scribner's Complete Edition 



The Bibliophile Society, 1914 
Verse and Prose; The Biblio- 
phile Society, 1917 

Love-Songs of Childhood 
Little Book of Western Verse 
Second Book of Verse 



Scribner's Complete Edition 



Verse and Prose; The Biblio- 
phile Society, 1917 



Some Time * Little Book of Western Verse 

Soubrette, To a " " « 

Soldier, Maiden and Flower ..." <. « .. ,. 

Smith, John Second Book of Verse 

St. Martin's Lane " <..... 

Singing in God's Acre, The ... " « « 

Sugar-Plum Tree, The * . . . . " " <- .< 

Shut-Eye Train, The Love-Songs of Childhood 

St. Jo Gazette, The Second Book of Verse 

Schnellest Zug, The " « << ,< 

Shuffle-Shoon and Amber-Locks . . Love-Songs of Childhood 
Swing High and Swing Low ... 

Stork, The " " 

So, so, Rockaby So " 

Suppose (Not yet collected) 

[55] 



Seein' Things at Night .... Love-Songs of Childhood 
"Song of Luddy-Dud, The" ... ' .... 

"Stoddards, The" Scribner's Complete Edition 

" Star of the East " " " 

" Stoves and Sunshine " .... " " 

" Straw Parlor, The " 

" Sister's Cake " " " 

" Sleeping Child, The " .... " " 

"Sleeping Baby's Eyes, To a" . . " 

" Shoshone Legend, A " .... " " 

"Songof the All-Wool Shirt" . . " 

"Scherzo, A" 

" Secret of the Sphinx, The " . . . " " 

"Spirit Lake" 

" Song for the Departed " . ... " " 

Sister Rose's Suspicions (White House 

Ballads) 

"Sag Harbor" " 

" Susceptible Widow, The " ... " " 

" Straw Hat, The " " 

"Song" 

"Snakes, The" " " 

" Sabine Farm, My " " " 



'Thirty-Nine Little Book of Western Verse 

Telling the Bees Second Book of Verse 

Tea-Gown, The 

Teeny- Weeny * 

Telka 

Three Kings of Cologne .... 
"Trot, My Good Steed" .... 
" Truth About Horace, The " . . Scribner's Complete Edition 

"Three Tailors, The" 

"Twin Idols" " " " 

" Taylor Pup, The Ballad of the " . " " " 

"Trol lope's History of Florence, After 

Reading " " " " 

" The Old Homestead " .... " " " 

" Two Coffins, The " " " " 

" Two Valentines " " " ' 

"Two Little Skeezucks, The" . . " " " 

" Three-Cent Stamp, The " ..." " " 

[56] 



" Thomas A. Hendricks's Appeal " . Scribner's Complete Edition 
"Tying of the Tie," The (White 

House Ballads) " " " 

"Three Days in Springtime" . . " 
"Truth and Simplicity in Song, In 

Praise of" " " " 

"Tin Bank, The" " " " 

Uhland's "Three Cavaliers" . . . Little Book of Western Verse 

Usurper, To a * " " " 

"Uhland's 'White Stag'" . . . Scribner's Complete Edition 

"Uhland's 'Chapel'" 

" Uncle Eph" 

" Under the Greenwood Tree " . . Verse and Prose; The Biblio- 
phile Society, 1917 

Valentine, A Love-Songs of Childhood 

Virgil, An Eclogue from .... Second Book of Verse 

"Villon and I" Love Affairs of a Bibliomenia 

"Valentine To My Wife, A" . . . Scribner's Complete Edition 
" Violets' Love Story, The " ..." 

"Virgilian Picnic, A" " " " 

"Vineyard, The" 

Wind, The (Not yet collected) 

When I was a Boy Love-Songs of Childhood 

Wynken, Blynken and Nod (Dutch 

Lullaby) Little Book of Western Verse 

Wanderer, The 

With Trumpet and Drum . . . With Trumpet and Drum 

Watts, An Imitation of Dr. . . . Second Book of Verse 

Waller Lot, Ballad of the . . . . Love-Songs of Childhood 

"Women I Love, Ballad of" . . . Scribner's Complete Edition 

"With Two Spoons for Two Spoons " 

"Wooing of the Southland, The" 
(Alaskan Ballad) 

"With Brutus in St. Jo" . ..." 

"Winfreda" (A Ballad of the Anglo- 
Saxon Tongue) 

" Western Boy's Lament, A " . . " 

"Wedding- Day, The" (White House 
Ballads) 

[57] 



"When Stedman Comes to Town" . Scribner's Complete Edition 

" War- Song, A " 

"Ward H. Lamon, Asleep on His 

Library Floor, To " " " 

Yvytot * Little Book of Western Verse 

"Yellowstone Park, A Battle In" . Scribner's Complete Edition 
" Yours Fraternally ' " .... " " 

" Ye Crewell Sassinger Mill " . . Verse and Prose; The Biblio- 
phile Society, 1917 

" Zephyr from Zululand, A " . . . Scribner's Complete Edition 



SKETCHES AND TALES 



Bill, the Lokil Editor . 
Boomerangelungen, The 

Coming of the Prince, The 
Christmas Tree, The First 
Cyclopeedy, The 

Divell's Chrystmasse, The 
Daniel and the Devil , 
Dock Stebblns . . . , 
Dante 



Ezra's Thanksgiving Out West 

Fido's Little Friend . 
Fairies of Pesth, The . 
Flail, Trask and Bisland 
Franz Abt .... 
Felice and Petit-Ponlain 

Hampshire Hills, The . 
Holy Cross, The 



Introduction to 



Jinin' Farms, The 
Ludwig and Eloise 



Little Book of Profitable Tales 
Culture's Garland 

Little Book of Profitable Tales 



Little Book of Profitable Tales 
The Holy Cross 
Little Book of Profitable Tales 
Culture's Garland 

Little Book of Profitable Tales 
Little Book of Profitable Tales 

The Holy Cross 

Little Book of Profitable Tales 

Little Book of Profitable Tales 

Stone's First Edition of Ameri- 
can Authors 
(Not yet collected) 

Little Book of Profitable Tales 



[58] 



Margaret; a Pearl Little Book of Profitable Tales 

Mouse and the Moonbeam, The . " " " " " 

Mountain and the Sea, The . . " " 

Methuselah The Holy Cross 

Mistress Merciless " " " 

Old Man, The Little Book of Profitable Tales 

Oak-Tree and the Ivy, The . . " " " " " 

Primer Stories The Tribune Primer; Denver, 

1882 



Rose and the Thrush, The 
Robin and the Violet, The 
Rodolph and His King . 
River, The .... 



Symbol and the Saint, The 
Seal-Wife, The . . . 
Spring-Time, The . 



Touch in the Heart, The 
Xanthippe .... 
Yaller Baby, The Little 



The Holy Cross 

Little Book of Profitable Tales 

The Holy Cross 

Little Book of Profitable Tales 

The Holy Cross 

Little Book of Profitable Tales 

The Holy Cross 

Culture's Garland 

Little Book of Profitable Tales 



Twenty-one Tales'^ 



Jim's Kids 

Old Gramper Growly 

Mistress Merciless 

The Lonesome Little Shoe 

Franz Abt 

The Catnip Garden 

Daniel and the Devil 

John Henry's Fishing 

An Early Fourth of July 

The Coming of George 

The Old Hymn Book 

1 Part of these appear in the index; others are unidentified. — Ed 

[59] 



The Holy Cross 

Joel's Christmas 

Job and His Ailment 

Leander and the Parrot 

Mrs. Macgregor's Red Gown 

John Milton and His Type- Writer 

Methuselah 

The River 

Mrs. Socrates 

The Seal-Wife 



BOOKS BY EUGENE FIFLD^ 

A Little Book of Western Verse; Charles Scribner's Sons, 

New York ^1.25 

With Trumpet and Drum; Charles Scribner's Sons, New 

York 1.00 

Second Book of Verse; Charles Scribner's Sons, New York . 1.25 
Echoes from the Sabine Farm; A. C. McClurg Co., Chicago 5.00 
Love-Songs of Childhood; Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1.25 
Denver Tribune Primer; Denver, 1882. Out of print. 
Culture's Garland; Ticknor & Co., Boston. Out of print. 
A Little Book of Profitable Tales; Chas. Scribner's Sons, 

New York 1.25 

The Holy Cross and Other Tales ; Stone & Kimball, Chicago . 1.25 

"Auto-Analysis," Chicago, 1896 

" Eugene Field to Francis Wilson," New Rochelle, 1896 

"Second Book of Tales," Scribner's, New York, 1896 

"Songs and Other Verses," Scribner's, New York, 1896 

" The House," Scribner's, 1896 

"The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac," Scribner's, 1896 

" Florence Bardsley's Story," Chicago, 1897 

"Sharps and Flats," Scribner's, New York, 2 vols, 1900 

"The Friar Gonsol," Cadmus Press, New York, 1900 

" The Story of the Two Friars," Chicago, 1900 

" A Little Book of Tribune Verse," 1901 

"The Stars — A Slumber Story," New York, 1901 

" Hoosier Lyrics," Donahue & Co., Chicago, 1905 

"John Smith, U. S. A.," Donahue & Co., Chicago, 1905 

"The Clink of the Ice," Donahue & Co., Chicago, 1905 

"The Wink- A- Way Land," Donahue & Co., Chicago, 1905 

" The Poems of Eugene Field," Complete Edition, Scribner's, 1915 

Note: In addition to the works specified above, Mr. Field con- 
tributed an introduction to Herbert Stuart Stone's "First Editions 
of American Authors; " and a memoir of Mrs. Ruth C. Gray to 
a memorial volume privately printed, St. Louis, 1894. The book 
"With Trumpet and Drum" is composed exclusively of child verse 
compiled from "A Little Book of Western Verse" and "Second 
Book of Verse " and written previous to the year 1893. [This note 
was written by Field at the conclusion of his list.] 

1 The first nine titles constitute Field's list as he wrote it. Those 
quoted have been added. — Ed. 

[60] 



LIST OF BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS IN THE 

GEORGE H. YENOWINE COLLECTION OF 

EUGENE FIELD'S WORKS 

" Second Book of Verse." Scribner & Son, 1893. First edition, 
inscribed, witii four lines of verse by Field. Contains bookplates 
of Field and Yenowine. 

"A Little Book of Profitable Tales." First edition, 1890, In- 
scribed by Field. Bookplates of Field and Yenowine pasted in. 

" Dibdin's Ghost." A little volume containing the original MS. 
with rubricated initials; also a printed copy. These are followed 
by several newspaper clippings, pasted in on blank leaves. Book- 
plates of Field and Yenowine inserted. 

"Culture's Garland." Published by Ticknor & Co., Boston, 
1887. Inscribed by Field: — "To George H. Yenowine this error 
of youth is regretfully presented by the committer thereof. Eugene 
Field." Yenowine's bookplate pasted in. 

" In Memory of Mrs. Ruth C. Gray." Privately printed, 1894. 
Bookplate of George H. Yenowine. Inscribed by Field: "With 
very much love to George H. Yenowine. Eugene Field." 

" Echoes from the Sabine Farm." Bookplates of Geo. H. 
Yenowine and Eugene Field. Contains proof sheet of "Sharps 
and Flats " signed in two places by Field. This copy is inscribed 
by Mrs. Eugene Field as follows: — "To Geo. H. Yenowine: As 
an expression of my appreciation of a true friend — shown to me 
in his devotion to my husband's memory, and his many acts of 
kindness to his nearest and dearest. — I beg he will accept this book 
from me in grateful love. Mrs. Eugene Field. Feb. 14, 1896." 

" Love Songs of Childhood," 1894. — Japanese vellum copy No. 
IX, with Field's bookplate and ten lines of a verse in his autograph. 
Frontispiece portrait of Field inscribed, "Always affectionately 
yours, dear Yenowine"; signed and dated Feb. 8, 1895. 

"With Trumpet and Drum." First edition, 1892. Charles 
Scribner's Sons. Limited edition, this being No. 66. 

" Little Book of Profitable Tales," of which only 250 copies were 
issued, this being No. 177. Printed by M. E. Stone, Chicago, 
1889. Inserted bookplate of Geo. H. Yenowine. Contains four 
lines of verse in Field's handwriting, also a pen sketch in colors by 
Field. Inserted in the book are the names of the subscribers. 



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"The Symbol and the Saint, a Christmas Tale." Autograph 
facsimile edition, 1886. Contains bookplate of Yenowine, and is in- 
scribed by Field with eight lines of prose, dated May 27, 1895. 

"The Tribune Primer." Limited edition, privately printed at 
Marion Press, 1900; handmade paper. Copy No. 76. Contains 
bookplate of Field and Yenowine, and a card on which Field wrote: 
"That's right; come along; plenty of room; glad to see you. 
Bring mamma, — E. F." Also a letter from G. M. Williamson 
to Yenowine. 

"The Holy Cross and Other Tales." Limited edition; Stone 
& Kimball, Chicago, 1893. Copy No. 3. Contains bookplates 
of Eugene Field and Yenowine, and is inscribed by Field with six 
lines of prose. 

"The Holy Cross." Twenty copies printed on Japanese vellum 
by Stone and Kimball. Presented by Field to Mrs. Yenowine. 
Has inserted bookplate of Yenowine and is inscribed by Field. 
Also inscribed by Mrs. Yenowine. 

"A Little Book of Western Verse." First edition, 1890; being 
Mr. Field's personal copy which he used on the platform. In- 
serted are bookplates of Field and Yenowine. Inscribed by Field 
with a six-line stanza addressed "to Mr. and Mrs. George H. 
Yenowine." 

" Echoes from the Sabine Farm." Limited edition; 30 copies 
on Japan and 70 on handmade paper. This copy is one of the 
latter. No. 41, signed by Francis Wilson. Contains bookplate 
of Yenowine, and is inscribed by Field with two lines of prose and 
a six-line stanza, signed. 

A portion of "Mistress Merciless," which was dedicated to Mrs. 
Yenowine. Bookplate of Yenowine inserted. "Contents and 
Dedications," in Field's handwriting, and underneath are fifteen 
titles, with names of persons to whom they are dedicated. Ten 
letters in Field's handwriting are inserted on stubs. Volume is 
bound in black leather. 

Large paper edition of " Echoes from the Sabine Farm," McClurg 
& Co., Chicago, 1893. 500 copies, of which this is No. 435. Book- 
plates of Field and Yenowine inserted; also portrait of Field in 
his library. Contains complete poem, " Lydia Die" in Field's 
writing, signed. Book has various original pen and ink and water 
color sketches all the way through, done by several different artists. 

Original manuscript, bound, of "Odes of Horace"; containing 
twenty-three of Field's translations and paraphrases from Horace, 

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all signed. Twenty-one of these were published in " Echoes from 
the Sabine Farm," and two are unpublished. Field's full signa- 
ture appears at the top of the second front waste-leaf, which is 
otherwise blank. The manuscripts are all prepared with great care 
and most of them have large initials and headings in a variety 
of colors of ink. Some contain penciled instructions to the printer 
and other memoranda. Pasted in the front are the bookmarks 
of Field and Yenowine. 

" Florence Bardsley's Story." Printed by W. Irving Way in 
1897. Contains bookplate of Yenowine. Autographed by Caro- 
line Way, the illuminator. 

"Eugene Field, An Auto-analysis." Chicago, 1896. Limited 
edition on Japanese vellum. Contains bookplate of Yenowine 
and is autographed by F. M. Morris, the publisher. 

" Eugene Field to Francis Wilson." Privately printed, 1896, 
100 copies on handmade paper. Contains Yenowine's bookmark 
with Francis Wilson's signature on it. 

"Tribune Primer." First edition, " Reprinted from the " Denver 
Tribune"; no date. Bound with original front paper cover. Book- 
marks of Field and Yenowine pasted in. 

ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS 

"Villon and I." Two pages. Original draft. 

"Mistress Merciless," five pages engrossed and illustrated by 
Field. Unfinished. 

Two and a quarter pages of manuscript, giving information to a 
correspondent about origin of a dozen of Field's most popular poems. 

Original draft of personal sketch of Field's life, dated New Orleans, 
March 14th, 1894. Three pages. Written and published by him- 
self. It was intended to be sent in reply to the numerous re- 
quests for information concerning himself. It was first printed 
as a four-page leaflet in a limited edition of eight copies, of which 
No. 7 accompanies the manuscript. Later published by Morris 
as "An Auto-Analysis." 

Contract written by Field forming a co-partnership with John 
A. Reavis to become editors and publishers of the "Washington 
Critic." Never consummated. One sheet. 

"Mistress Merciless," newspaper proofs, 5 pages corrected and 
autographed by Field. 

" Unto Us a Child is Born." One page MS. Suppressed. 

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Manuscript of short story, "Sweet One Darling and the Moon- 
beam." Dated Chicago, June 30th, 1895. 4 pages. Signed. 

Thirteen pages of manuscript giving correct title of verses and 
stories written by Field prior to 1894, a year before his death. 
Very carefully compiled by Field for the use of a friend. 

Two folio pages, diary of Field's visit to Washington and an 
interview with President Cleveland. 

Auto Proof of " Springtime." Set up in galley form. 

The most precious of all Field Manuscripts. Two pages of 
rough paper torn from a tablet, and containing two finished and 
two unfinished stanzas written in pencil a few hours before Field's 
death. There are three extra sheets on which appear the names 
of bookdealers in London, Paris and other European centers, 
written out by G. M. Millard for Field's use in composing his poem.' 



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